System and method for context enhanced mapping

ABSTRACT

A system and method for Context Enhanced Mapping. A request is received from a user over a network for a map comprising an identification of a physical location, and at least one criteria. The physical location is mapped. Spatial, temporal, topical, and social data available to the network relating to the physical location and criteria is retrieved using a global index of data available to the network and prioritized for inclusion based upon the user and context of the request. The map of the physical location and at least some of the retrieved spatial, temporal, topical, and social data is displayed on a display medium.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. Nonprovisional patentapplication Ser. No. 16/193,373, filed on Nov. 16, 2018, titled SYSTEMAND METHOD FOR CONTEXT ENHANCED MAPPING, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/584,475, filed on Dec. 29, 2014, now U.S.Pat. No. 10,133,458 titled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTEXT ENHANCEDMAPPING, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/076,948, filed on Nov. 11, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,959,100 titledSYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTEXT ENHANCED MAPPING, which is a continuationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/182,813, filed on Jul. 30, 2008,now U.S. Pat. No. 8,583,668 titled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTEXTENHANCED MAPPING, and incorporates the disclosure of each application byreference. To the extent that the present disclosure conflicts with anyreferenced application, however, the present disclosure is to be givenpriority.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to systems and methods for displaying amap on a network and, more particularly, to systems and methods fordisplaying maps which are enhanced using, in part, data collected andstored by multiple devices on a network.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A great deal of information is generated when people use electronicdevices, such as when people use mobile phones and cable set-top boxes.Such information, such as location, applications used, social network,physical and online locations visited, to name a few, could be used todeliver useful services and information to end users, and providecommercial opportunities to advertisers and retailers. However, most ofthis information is effectively abandoned due to deficiencies in the waysuch information can be captured. For example, and with respect to amobile phone, information is generally not gathered while the mobilephone is idle (i.e., not being used by a user). Other information, suchas presence of others in the immediate vicinity, time and frequency ofmessages to other users, and activities of a user's social network arealso not captured effectively.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, the invention is directed to a method. A request isreceived from a user over a network request for a map comprising anidentification of a physical location, and at least one criteria. Thephysical location is mapped. Spatial, temporal, topical. And social dateavailable to the network relating to the physical location and criteriais retrieved using a global index of data available to the network. Themap of the physical location and at least some of the retrieved spatial,temporal, topical, and social state is displayed on a display medium.

In another embodiment, the invention is directed to a system comprising:a mapping request module that receives, over a network, requests for amaps from users, wherein each request comprises an identification of aphysical location, and at least one criteria; a map generation modulethat maps the physical location; an enhanced content search module thatretrieves spatial, temporal, topical, and social data available to thenetwork relating to the physical location and the criteria of eachrequest using a global index of data available to the network; a contextenhanced display module that displays, on display media, maps ofphysical location mapped by the map generation module and at least someof the retrieved spatial, temporal, topical, and social data retrievedby the enhanced content search module.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of theinvention will be apparent from the following more particulardescription of preferred embodiments as illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which reference characters refer to the same partsthroughout the various views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale,emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating principles of theinvention.

FIG. 1 illustrates relationships between real-world entities (RWE) andinformation objects (10) on one embodiment of a W4 CommunicationsNetwork (W4 COMN);

FIG. 2 illustrates metadata defining the relationships between RWEs andIOs on one embodiment of a W4 COMN;

FIG. 3 illustrates a conceptual model of one embodiment of a W4 COMN;

FIG. 4 illustrates the functional layers of one embodiment of the W4COMN architecture;

FIG. 5 illustrates the analysis components of one embodiment of a W4engine as shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of a W4 engine showing differentcomponents within the sub-engines shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a high level diagram of a system that can provide enhancedcontent for a map or route request;

FIG. 8 illustrates how the entities displayed in FIG. 7 may be definedto a network, for example a W4 COMN;

FIG. 9 illustrates one embodiment of a data model which shows how theRWEs shown in FIG. 8 can be related to one another directly andindirectly though intermediate IOs;

FIG. 10 illustrates one embodiment of a process 800 of how a networkcontaining temporal, spatial, and social network and topical data for aplurality of users, devices, and locations (such as a W4 COMN), can beused to enable the display of maps having enhanced content related tocomplex user contexts having who, where, when, and what criteria;

FIG. 11 illustrates the components of one embodiment of a contextenhanced mapping engine;

FIG. 12 illustrates how a maps with enhanced content can be displayed ona display device;

FIG. 13 illustrates one embodiment of a popup in interface elementdisplayed when a user passes a mouse cursor over an symbol representinga business which is displayed on a content enhanced map;

FIG. 14 illustrates one embodiment of a data model associated with a mapgenerated by a context enhanced map request where a user is able to editand annotate the content of a map generated in response to a contextenhanced map request;

FIG. 15 illustrates a conceptual embodiment of a system that allowsusers and businesses to share maps with enhanced content;

FIG. 16 illustrates one embodiment of a process of how context enhancedmaps can be created and stored on a network containing temporal,spatial, and social network and topical data for a plurality of users,devices, and locations (such as a W4 COMIC); and

FIG. 17 illustrates how the embodiment of a context enhanced mappingengine shown in FIG. 11 can be extended to support the processillustrated in FIG. 16.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is described below with reference to blockdiagrams and operational illustrations of methods and devices to selectand present media related to a specific topic. It is understood thateach block of the block diagrams or operational illustrations, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams or operationalillustrations, can be implemented by means of analog or digital hardwareand computer program instructions.

These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of ageneral purpose computer, special purpose computer, ASIC, or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus, such that the instructions,which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmabledata processing apparatus, implements the functions/acts specified inthe block diagrams or operational block or blocks.

In some alternate implementations, the functions/acts noted in theblocks can occur out of the order noted in the operationalillustrations. For example, two blocks shown in succession can in factbe executed substantially concurrently or the blocks can sometimes beexecuted in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/actsinvolved.

For the purposes of this disclosure the term “server” should beunderstood to refer to a service point which provides processing,database, and communication facilities. By way of example, and notlimitation, the term “server” can refer to a single, physical processorwith associated communications and data storage and database facilities,or it can refer to a networked or clustered complex of processors andassociated network and storage devices, as well as operating softwareand one or more database systems and applications software which supportthe services provided by the server.

For the purposes of this disclosure the term “end user” or “user” shouldbe understood to refer to a consumer of data supplied by a dataprovider. By way of example, and not limitation, the term “end user” canrefer to a person who receives data provided by the data provider overthe Internet in a browser session, or can refer to an automated softwareapplication which receives the data and stores or processes the data.

For the purposes of this disclosure the term “media” and “media content”should be understood to refer to binary data which contains contentwhich can be of interest to an end user. By way of example, and notlimitation, the term “media” and “media content” can refer to multimediadata, such as video data or audio data, or any other form of datacapable of being transformed into a form perceivable by an end user.Such data can, furthermore, be encoded in any manner currently known, orwhich can be developed in the future, for specific purposes. By way ofexample, and not limitation, the data can be encrypted, compressed,and/or can contained embedded metadata.

For the purposes of this disclosure, a computer readable medium storescomputer data in machine readable form. By way of example, and notlimitation, a computer readable medium can comprise computer storagemedia and communication media. Computer storage media includes volatileand non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in anymethod or technology for storage of information such ascomputer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules orother data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM,ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other solid-state memory technology,CD-ROM, DVD, or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetictape, magnetic disk storage or other mass storage devices, or any othermedium which can be used to store the desired information and which canbe accessed by the computer.

For the purposes of this disclosure a module is a software, hardware, orfirmware (or combinations thereof) system, process or functionality, orcomponent thereof, that performs or facilitates the processes, features,and/or functions described herein (with or without human interaction oraugmentation). A module can include sub-modules. Software components ofa module may be stored on a computer readable medium. Modules may beintegral to one or more servers, or be loaded and executed by one ormore servers. One or more modules may grouped into an engine or anapplication.

Embodiments of the present invention utilize information provided by anetwork which is capable of providing data collected and stored bymultiple devices on a network. Such information may include, withoutlimitation, temporal information, spatial information, and userinformation relating to a specific user or hardware device. Userinformation may include, without limitation, user demographics, userpreferences, user social networks, and user behavior. One embodiment ofsuch a network is a W4 Communications Network.

A “W4 Communications Network” or W4 COMN, provides information relatedto the “Who, What, When and Where” of interactions within the network.In one embodiment, the W4 COMN is a collection of users, devices andprocesses that foster both synchronous and asynchronous communicationsbetween users and their proxies providing an instrumented network ofsensors providing data recognition and collection in real-worldenvironments about any subject, location, user or combination thereof

In one embodiment, the W4 COMN can handle the routing/addressing,scheduling, filtering, prioritization, replying, forwarding, storing,deleting, privacy, transacting, triggering of a new message, propagatingchanges, transcoding and linking Furthermore, these actions can beperformed on any communication channel accessible by the W4 COMN.

In one embodiment, the W4 COMN uses a data modeling strategy forcreating profiles for not only users and locations, but also any deviceon the network and any kind of user-defined data with user-specifiedconditions. Using Social, Spatial, Temporal and Logical data availableabout a specific user, topic or logical data object, every entity knownto the W4 COMN can be mapped and represented against all other knownentities and data objects in order to create both a micro graph forevery entity as well as a global graph that relates all known entitieswith one another. In one embodiment, such relationships between entitiesand data objects are stored in a global index within the W4 COMN.

In one embodiment, a W4 COMN network relates to what may be termed“real-world entities”, hereinafter referred to as RWEs. A RWE refers to,without limitation, a person, device, location, or other physical thingknown to a W4 COMN. In one embodiment, each RWE known to a W4 COMN isassigned a unique W4 identification number that identifies the RWEwithin the W4 COMN.

RWEs can interact with the network directly or through proxies, whichcan themselves be RWEs. Examples of RWEs that interact directly with theW4 COMN include any device such as a sensor, motor, or other piece ofhardware connected to the W4 COMN in order to receive or transmit dataor control signals. RWE may include all devices that can serve asnetwork nodes or generate, request and/or consume data in a networkedenvironment or that can be controlled through a network. Such devicesinclude any kind of “dumb” device purpose-designed to interact with anetwork (e.g., cell phones, cable television set top boxes, faxmachines, telephones, and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags,sensors, etc.).

Examples of RWEs that may use proxies to interact with W4 COMN networkinclude non-electronic entities including physical entities, such aspeople, locations (e.g., states, cities, houses, buildings, airports,roads, etc.) and things (e.g., animals, pets, livestock, gardens,physical objects, cars, airplanes, works of art, etc.), and intangibleentities such as business entities, legal entities, groups of people orsports teams. In addition, “smart” devices (e.g., computing devices suchas smart phones, smart set top boxes, smart cars that supportcommunication with other devices or networks, laptop computers, personalcomputers, server computers, satellites, etc.) may be considered RWEthat use proxies to interact with the network, where softwareapplications executing on the device that serve as the devices' proxies.

In one embodiment, a W4 COMN may allow associations between RWEs to bedetermined and tracked. For example, a given user (an RWE) can beassociated with any number and type of other RWEs including otherpeople, cell phones, smart credit card personal data assistants, emailand other communication service accounts, networked computers, smartappliances, set top boxes and receivers for cable television and othermedia services, and any other networked device. This association can bemade explicitly by the user, such as when the RWE is installed into theW4 COMN.

An example of this is the setup of a new cell phone, cable televisionservice or email account in which a user explicitly identifies an RWE(e.g., the user's phone for the cell phone service, the user's set topbox and/or a location for cable service, or a username and password forthe online service) as being directly associated with the user. Thisexplicit association can include the user identifying a specificrelationship between the user and the RWE (e.g., this is my device, thisis my home appliance, this person is my friend/father/son/etc., thisdevice is shared between me and other users, etc.). RWEs can also beimplicitly associated with a user based on a current situation. Forexample, a weather sensor on the W4 COMN can be implicitly associatedwith a user based on information indicating that the user lives or ispassing near the sensor's location.

In one embodiment, a W4 COMN network may additionally include what maybe termed “information-objects”, hereinafter referred to as IOs. Aninformation object (IO) is a logical object that may store, maintain,generate or otherwise provides data for use by RWEs and/or the W4 COMN.In one embodiment, data within in an IO can be revised by the act of anRWE An IO within in a W4 COMN can be provided a unique W4 identificationnumber that identifies the IO within the W4 COMN.

In one embodiment, IOs include passive objects such as communicationsignals (e.g., digital and analog telephone signals, streaming media andinterprocess communications), email messages, transaction records,virtual cards, event records (e.g., a data file identifying a time,possibly in combination with one or more RWEs such as users andlocations, that can further be associated with a knowntopic/activity/significance such as a concert, rally, meeting, sportingevent, etc.), recordings of phone calls, calendar entries, web pages,database entries, electronic media objects (e.g., media files containingsongs, videos, pictures, images, audio messages, phone calls, etc.),electronic files and associated metadata

In one embodiment, IOs include any executing process or application thatconsumes or generates data such as an email communication application(such as OUTLOOK by MICROSOFT, or YAHOO! MAIL by YAHOO!), a calendaringapplication, a word processing application, an image editingapplication, a media player application, a weather monitoringapplication, a browser application and a web page server application.Such active IOs can or cannot serve as a proxy for one or more RWEs. Forexample, voice communication software on a smart phone can serve as theproxy for both the smart phone and for the owner of the smart phone.

In one embodiment, for every IO there are at least three classes ofassociated RWEs. The first is the RWE that owns or controls the IO,whether as the creator or a rights holder (e.g., an RWE with editingrights or use rights to the IO). The second is the RWE(s) that the IOrelates to, for example by containing information about the RWE or thatidentifies the RWE. The third are any RWEs that access the IO in orderto obtain data from the IO for some purpose.

Within the context of a W4 COMN, “available data” and “W4 data” meansdata that exists in an IO or data that can be collected from a known IOor RWE such as a deployed sensor. Within the context of a W4 COMN,“sensor” means any source of W4 data including PCs, phones, portable PCsor other wireless devices, household devices, cars, appliances, securityscanners, video surveillance, RFID tags in clothes, products andlocations, online data or any other source of information about areal-world user/topic/thing (RWE) or logic-basedagent/process/topic/thing (10).

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of relationships between RWEs and IOson a W4 COMN. A user 102 is a RWE provided with a unique network ID. Theuser 102 may be a human that communicates with the network using proxydevices 104, 106, 108, 110 associated with the user 102, all of whichare RWEs having a unique network ID. These proxies can communicatedirectly with the W4 COMN or can communicate with the W4 COMN using IOssuch as applications executed on or by a proxy device.

In one embodiment, the proxy devices 104, 106, 108, 110 can beexplicitly associated with the user 102. For example, one device 104 canbe a smart phone connected by a cellular service provider to the networkand another device 106 can be a smart vehicle that is connected to thenetwork. Other devices can be implicitly associated with the user 102.

For example, one device 108 can be a “dumb” weather sensor at a locationmatching the current location of the user's cell phone 104, and thusimplicitly associated with the user 102 while the two RWEs 104, 108 areco-located. Another implicitly associated device 110 can be a sensor 110for physical location 112 known to the W4 COMN. The location 112 isknown, either explicitly (through a user-designated relationship, e.g.,this is my home, place of employment, parent, etc.) or implicitly (theuser 102 is often co-located with the RWE 112 as evidenced by data fromthe sensor 110 at that location 112), to be associated with the firstuser 102.

The user 102 can be directly associated with one or more persons 140,and indirectly associated with still more persons 142, 144 through achain of direct associations. Such associations can be explicit (e.g.,the user 102 can have identified the associated person 140 as his/herfather, or can have identified the person 140 as a member of the user'ssocial network) or implicit (e.g., they share the same address).Tracking the associations between people (and other RWEs as well) allowsthe creation of the concept of “intimacy”, where intimacy may be definedas a measure of the degree of association between two people or RWEs.For example, each degree of removal between RWEs can be considered alower level of intimacy, and assigned lower intimacy score. Intimacy canbe based solely on explicit social data or can be expanded to includeall W4 data including spatial data and temporal data.

In one embodiment, each RWE 102, 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, 140, 142, 144of a W4 COMN can be associated with one or more IOs as shown. FIG. 1illustrates two IOs 122, 124 as associated with the cell phone device104. One IO 122 can be a passive data object such as an event recordthat is used by scheduling/calendaring software on the cell phone, acontact IO used by an address book application, a historical record of atransaction made using the device 104 or a copy of a message sent fromthe device 104. The other IO 124 can be an active software process orapplication that serves as the device's proxy to the W4 COMN bytransmitting or receiving data via the W4 COMN. Voice communicationsoftware, scheduling/calendaring software, an address book applicationor a text messaging application are all examples of IOs that cancommunicate with other IOs and RWEs on the network. IOs may additionallyrelate to topics of interest to one or more RWEs, such topics including,without limitation, musical artists, genre of music, a location and soforth.

The IOs 122, 124 can be locally stored on the device 104 or storedremotely on some node or datastore accessible to the W4 COMN, such as amessage server or cell phone service datacenter. The IO 126 associatedwith the vehicle 108 can be an electronic file containing thespecifications and/or current status of the vehicle 108, such as make,model, identification number, current location, current speed, currentcondition, current owner, etc. The IO 128 associated with sensor 108 canidentify the current state of the subject(s) monitored by the sensor108, such as current weather or current traffic. The IO 130 associatedwith the cell phone 110 can be information in a database identifyingrecent calls or the amount of charges on the current bill.

RWEs which can only interact with the W4 COMN through proxies, such aspeople 102, 140, 142, 144, computing devices 104, 106 and locations 112,can have one or more IOs 132, 134, 146, 148, 150 directly associatedwith them which contain RWE-specific information for the associated RWE.For example, IOs associated with a person 132, 146, 148, 150 can includea user profile containing email addresses, telephone numbers, physicaladdresses, user preferences, identification of devices and other RWEsassociated with the user. The IOs may additionally include records ofthe user's past interactions with other RWE's on the W4 COMN (e.g.,transaction records, copies of messages, listings of time and locationcombinations recording the user's whereabouts in the past), the uniqueW4 COMN identifier for the location and/or any relationship information(e.g., explicit user-designations of the user's relationships withrelatives, employers, co-workers, neighbors, service providers, etc.).

Another example of IOs associated with a person 132, 146, 148, 150includes remote applications through which a person can communicate withthe W4 COMN such as an account with a web-based email service such asYahoo! Mail. A location's IO 134 can contain information such as theexact coordinates of the location, driving directions to the location, aclassification of the location (residence, place of business, public,nonpublic, etc.), information about the services or products that can beobtained at the location, the unique W4 COMN identifier for thelocation, businesses located at the location, photographs of thelocation, etc.

In one embodiment, RWEs and IOs are correlated to identify relationshipsbetween them. RWEs and IOs may be correlated using metadata. Forexample, if an IO is a music file, metadata for the file can includedata identifying the artist, song, etc., album art, and the format ofthe music data. This metadata can be stored as part of the music file orin one or more different IOs that are associated with the music file orboth. W4 metadata can additionally include the owner of the music fileand the rights the owner has in the music file. As another example, ifthe IO is a picture taken by an electronic camera, the picture caninclude in addition to the primary image data from which an image can becreated on a display, metadata identifying when the picture was taken,where the camera was when the picture was taken, what camera took thepicture, who, if anyone, is associated (e.g., designated as the camera'sowner) with the camera, and who and what are the subjects of/in thepicture. The W4 COMN uses all the available metadata in order toidentify implicit and explicit associations between entities and dataobjects.

FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of metadata defining the relationshipsbetween RWEs and IOs on the W4 COMN. In the embodiment shown, an IO 202includes object data 204 and five discrete items of metadata 206, 208,210, 212, 214. Some items of metadata 208, 210, 212 can containinformation related only to the object data 204 and unrelated to anyother IO or RWE. For example, a creation date, text or an image that isto be associated with the object data 204 of the IO 202.

Some of items of metadata 206, 214, on the other hand, can identifyrelationships between the IO 202 and other RWEs and IOs. As illustrated,the IO 202 is associated by one item of metadata 206 with an RWE 220that RWE 220 is further associated with two IOs 224, 226 and a secondRWE 222 based on some information known to the W4 COMN. For example,could describe the relations between an image (IO 202) containingmetadata 206 that identifies the electronic camera (the first RWE 220)and the user (the second RWE 224) that is known by the system to be theowner of the camera 220. Such ownership information can be determined,for example, from one or another of the IOs 224, 226 associated with thecamera 220.

FIG. 2 also illustrates metadata 214 that associates the IO 202 withanother IO 230. This IO 230 is itself associated with three other IOs232, 234, 236 that are further associated with different RWEs 242, 244,246. This part of FIG. 2, for example, could describe the relationsbetween a music file (IO 202) containing metadata 206 that identifiesthe digital rights file (the first IO 230) that defines the scope of therights of use associated with this music file 202. The other IOs 232,234, 236 are other music files that are associated with the rights ofuse and which are currently associated with specific owners (RWEs 242,244, 246).

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a conceptual model of a W4 COMN.The W4 COMN 300 creates an instrumented messaging infrastructure in theform of a global logical network cloud conceptually sub-divided intonetworked-clouds for each of the 4Ws: Who, Where, What and When. In theWho cloud 302 are all users whether acting as senders, receivers, datapoints or confirmation/certification sources as well as user proxies inthe forms of user-program processes, devices, agents, calendars, etc.

In the Where cloud 304 are all physical locations, events, sensors orother RWEs associated with a spatial reference point or location. TheWhen cloud 306 is composed of natural temporal events (that is eventsthat are not associated with particular location or person such as days,times, seasons) as well as collective user temporal events (holidays,anniversaries, elections, etc.) and user-defined temporal events(birthdays, smart-timing programs).

The What cloud 308 is comprised of all known data—web or private,commercial or user—accessible to the W4 COMN, including for exampleenvironmental data like weather and news, RWE-generated data, IOs and IOdata, user data, models, processes and applications. Thus, conceptually,most data is contained in the What cloud 308.

Some entities, sensors or data may potentially exist in multiple cloudseither disparate in time or simultaneously. Additionally, some IOs andRWEs can be composites in that they combine elements from one or moreclouds. Such composites can be classified as appropriate to facilitatethe determination of associations between RWEs and IOs. For example, anevent consisting of a location and time could be equally classifiedwithin the When cloud 306, the What cloud 308 and/or the Where cloud304.

In one embodiment, a W4 engine 310 is center of the W4 COMN'sintelligence for making all decisions in the W4 COMN. The W4 engine 310controls all interactions between each layer of the W4 COMN and isresponsible for executing any approved user or application objectiveenabled by W4 COMN operations or interoperating applications. In anembodiment, the W4 COMN is an open platform with standardized, publishedAPIs for requesting (among other things) synchronization,disambiguation, user or topic addressing, access rights, prioritizationor other value-based ranking, smart scheduling, automation and topical,social, spatial or temporal alerts.

One function of the W4 COMN is to collect data concerning allcommunications and interactions conducted via the W4 COMN, which caninclude storing copies of IOs and information identifying all RWEs andother information related to the IOs (e.g., who, what, when, whereinformation). Other data collected by the W4 COMN can includeinformation about the status of any given RWE and IO at any given time,such as the location, operational state, monitored conditions (e.g., foran RWE that is a weather sensor, the current weather conditions beingmonitored or for an RWE that is a cell phone, its current location basedon the cellular towers it is in contact with) and current status.

The W4 engine 310 is also responsible for identifying RWEs andrelationships between RWEs and IOs from the data and communicationstreams passing through the W4 COMN. The function of identifying RWEsassociated with or implicated by IOs and actions performed by other RWEsmay be referred to as entity extraction. Entity extraction can includeboth simple actions, such as identifying the sender and receivers of aparticular IO, and more complicated analyses of the data collected byand/or available to the W4 COMN, for example determining that a messagelisted the time and location of an upcoming event and associating thatevent with the sender and receiver(s) of the message based on thecontext of the message or determining that an RWE is stuck in a trafficjam based on a correlation of the RWE's location with the status of aco-located traffic monitor.

It should be noted that when performing entity extraction from an IO,the IO can be an opaque object with only where only W4 metadata relatedto the object is visible, but internal data of the IO (i.e., the actualprimary or object data contained within the object) are not, and thusmetadata extraction is limited to the metadata. Alternatively, ifinternal data of the IO is visible, it can also be used in entityextraction, e.g. strings within an email are extracted and associated asRWEs to for use in determining the relationships between the sender,user, topic or other RWE or IO impacted by the object or process.

In the embodiment shown, the W4 engine 310 can be one or a group ofdistributed computing devices, such as a general-purpose personalcomputers (PCs) or purpose built server computers, connected to the W4COMN by communication hardware and/or software. Such computing devicescan be a single device or a group of devices acting together. Computingdevices can be provided with any number of program modules and datafiles stored in a local or remote mass storage device and local memory(e.g., RAM) of the computing device. For example, as mentioned above, acomputing device can include an operating system suitable forcontrolling the operation of a networked computer, such as the WINDOWSXP or WINDOWS SERVER operating systems from MICROSOFT CORPORATION.

Some RWEs can also be computing devices such as, without limitation,smart phones, web-enabled appliances, PCs, laptop computers, andpersonal data assistants (PDAs). Computing devices can be connected toone or more communications networks such as the Internet, a publiclyswitched telephone network, a cellular telephone network, a satellitecommunication network, a wired communication network such as a cabletelevision or private area network. Computing devices can be connectedany such network via a wired data connection or wireless connection suchas a wi-fi, a WiMAX (802.36), a Bluetooth or a cellular telephoneconnection.

Local data structures, including discrete IOs, can be stored on acomputer-readable medium (not shown) that is connected to, or part of,any of the computing devices described herein including the W4 engine310. For example, in one embodiment, the data backbone of the W4 COMN,discussed below, includes multiple mass storage devices that maintainthe IOs, metadata and data necessary to determine relationships betweenRWEs and IOs as described herein.

FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of the functional layers of a W4 COMNarchitecture. At the lowest layer, referred to as the sensor layer 402,is the network 404 of the actual devices, users, nodes and other RWEs.Sensors include known technologies like web analytics, GPS, cell-towerpings, use logs, credit card transactions, online purchases, explicituser profiles and implicit user profiling achieved through behavioraltargeting, search analysis and other analytics models used to optimizespecific network applications or functions.

The data layer 406 stores and catalogs the data produced by the sensorlayer 402. The data can be managed by either the network 404 of sensorsor the network infrastructure 406 that is built on top of theinstrumented network of users, devices, agents, locations, processes andsensors. The network infrastructure 408 is the core under-the-coversnetwork infrastructure that includes the hardware and software necessaryto receive that transmit data from the sensors, devices, etc. of thenetwork 404. It further includes the processing and storage capabilitynecessary to meaningfully categorize and track the data created by thenetwork 404.

The user profiling layer 410 performs the W4 COMN's user profilingfunctions. This layer 410 can further be distributed between the networkinfrastructure 408 and user applications/processes 412 executing on theW4 engine or disparate user computing devices. Personalization isenabled across any single or combination of communication channels andmodes including email, IM, texting (SMS, etc.), photobloging, audio(e.g. telephone call), video (teleconferencing, live broadcast), games,data confidence processes, security, certification or any other W4 COMMprocess call for available data.

In one embodiment, the user profiling layer 410 is a logic-based layerabove all sensors to which sensor data are sent in the rawest form to bemapped and placed into the W4 COMN data backbone 420. The data(collected and refined, related and deduplicated, synchronized anddisambiguated) are then stored in one or a collection of relateddatabases available applications approved on the W4 COMN.Network-originating actions and communications are based upon the fieldsof the data backbone, and some of these actions are such that theythemselves become records somewhere in the backbone, e.g. invoicing,while others, e.g. fraud detection, synchronization, disambiguation, canbe done without an impact to profiles and models within the backbone.

Actions originating from outside the network, e.g., RWEs such as users,locations, proxies and processes, come from the applications layer 414of the W4 COMN. Some applications can be developed by the W4 COMNoperator and appear to be implemented as part of the communicationsinfrastructure 408, e.g. email or calendar programs because of howclosely they operate with the sensor processing and user profiling layer410. The applications 412 also serve as a sensor in that they, throughtheir actions, generate data back to the data layer 406 via the databackbone concerning any data created or available due to theapplications execution.

In one embodiment, the applications layer 414 can also provide a userinterface (UI) based on device, network, carrier as well asuser-selected or security-based customizations. Any UI can operatewithin the W4 COMN if it is instrumented to provide data on userinteractions or actions back to the network. In the case of W4 COMNenabled mobile devices, the UI can also be used to confirm ordisambiguate incomplete W4 data in real-time, as well as correlation,triangulation and synchronization sensors for other nearby enabled ornon-enabled devices.

At some point, the network effects enough enabled devices allow thenetwork to gather complete or nearly complete data (sufficient forprofiling and tracking) of a non-enabled device because of its regularintersection and sensing by enabled devices in its real-world location.

Above the applications layer 414, or hosted within it, is thecommunications delivery network 416. The communications delivery networkcan be operated by the W4 COMN operator or be independent third-partycarrier service. Data may be delivered via synchronous or asynchronouscommunication. In every case, the communication delivery network 414will be sending or receiving data on behalf of a specific application ornetwork infrastructure 408 request.

The communication delivery layer 418 also has elements that act assensors including W4 entity extraction from phone calls, emails, blogs,etc. as well as specific user commands within the delivery networkcontext. For example, “save and prioritize this call” said before end ofcall can trigger a recording of the previous conversation to be savedand for the W4 entities within the conversation to analyzed andincreased in weighting prioritization decisions in thepersonalization/user profiling layer 410.

FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of the analysis components of a W4engine as shown in FIG. 3. As discussed above, the W4 Engine isresponsible for identifying RWEs and relationships between RWEs and IOsfrom the data and communication streams passing through the W4 COMN.

In one embodiment the W4 engine connects, interoperates and instrumentsall network participants through a series of sub-engines that performdifferent operations in the entity extraction process. The attributionengine 504 tracks the real-world ownership, control, publishing or otherconditional rights of any RWE in any IO. Whenever a new IO is detectedby the W4 engine 502, e.g., through creation or transmission of a newmessage, a new transaction record, a new image file, etc., ownership isassigned to the IO. The attribution engine 504 creates this ownershipinformation and further allows this information to be determined foreach IO known to the W4 COMN.

The correlation engine 506 can operates two capacities: first, toidentify associated RWEs and IOs and their relationships (such as bycreating a combined graph of any combination of RWEs and IOs and theirattributes, relationships and reputations within contexts or situations)and second, as a sensor analytics pre-processor for attention eventsfrom any internal or external source.

In one embodiment, the identification of associated RWEs and IOsfunction of the correlation engine 506 is done by graphing the availabledata, using, for example, one or more histograms A histogram is amapping technique that counts the number of observations that fall intovarious disjoint categories (i.e. bins.). By selecting each IO, RWE, andother known parameters (e.g., times, dates, locations, etc.) asdifferent bins and mapping the available data, relationships betweenRWEs, IOs and the other parameters can be identified. A histogram of allRWEs and IOs is created, from which correlations based on the graph canbe made.

As a pre-processor, the correlation engine 506 monitors the informationprovided by RWEs in order to determine if any conditions are identifiedthat can trigger an action on the part of the W4 engine 502. Forexample, if a delivery condition has been associated with a message,when the correlation engine 506 determines that the condition is met, itcan transmit the appropriate trigger information to the W4 engine 502that triggers delivery of the message.

The attention engine 508 instruments all appropriate network nodes,clouds, users, applications or any combination thereof and includesclose interaction with both the correlation engine 506 and theattribution engine 504.

FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of a W4 engine showing differentcomponents within the sub-engines described above with reference to FIG.4. In one embodiment the W4 engine 602 includes an attention engine 608,attribution engine 604 and correlation engine 606 with severalsub-managers based upon basic function.

The attention engine 608 includes a message intake and generationmanager 610 as well as a message delivery manager 612 that work closelywith both a message matching manager 614 and a real-time communicationsmanager 616 to deliver and instrument all communications across the W4COMN.

The attribution engine 604 works within the user profile manager 618 andin conjunction with all other modules to identify, process/verify andrepresent ownership and rights information related to RWEs, IOs andcombinations thereof.

The correlation engine 606 dumps data from both of its channels (sensorsand processes) into the same data backbone 620 which is organized andcontrolled by the W4 analytics manager 622. The data backbone 620includes both aggregated and individualized archived versions of datafrom all network operations including user logs 624, attention rankplace logs 626, web indices and environmental logs 618, e-commerce andfinancial transaction information 630, search indexes and logs 632,sponsor content or conditionals, ad copy and any and all other data usedin any W4COMN process, IO or event. Because of the amount of data thatthe W4 COMN will potentially store, the data backbone 620 includesnumerous database servers and datastores in communication with the W4COMN to provide sufficient storage capacity.

The data collected by the W4 COMN includes spatial data, temporal data,RWE interaction data, IO content data (e.g., media data), and user dataincluding explicitly-provided and deduced social and relationship data.Spatial data can be any data identifying a location associated with anRWE. For example, the spatial data can include any passively collectedlocation data, such as cell tower data, global packet radio service(GPRS) data, global positioning service (GPS) data, WI-FI data, personalarea network data, IP address data and data from other network accesspoints, or actively collected location data, such as location dataentered by the user.

Temporal data is time based data (e.g., time stamps) that relate tospecific times and/or events associated with a user and/or theelectronic device. For example, the temporal data can be passivelycollected time data (e.g., time data from a clock resident on theelectronic device, or time data from a network clock), or the temporaldata can be actively collected time data, such as time data entered bythe user of the electronic device (e.g., a user maintained calendar).

Logical and IO data refers to the data contained by an IO as well asdata associated with the IO such as creation time, owner, associatedRWEs, when the IO was last accessed, the topic or subject of the IO(from message content or “re” or subject line, as some examples) etc.For example, an IO may relate to media data. Media data can include anydata relating to presentable media, such as audio data, visual data, andaudiovisual data. Audio data can be data relating to downloaded music,such as genre, artist, album and the like, and includes data regardingringtones, ringbacks, media purchased, playlists, and media shared, toname a few. The visual data can be data relating to images and/or textreceived by the electronic device (e.g., via the Internet or othernetwork). The visual data can be data relating to images and/or textsent from and/or captured at the electronic device.

Audiovisual data can be data associated with any videos captured at,downloaded to, or otherwise associated with the electronic device. Themedia data includes media presented to the user via a network, such asuse of the Internet, and includes data relating to text entered and/orreceived by the user using the network (e.g., search terms), andinteraction with the network media, such as click data (e.g.,advertisement banner clicks, bookmarks, click patterns and the like).Thus, the media data can include data relating to the user's RSS feeds,subscriptions, group memberships, game services, alerts, and the like.

The media data can include non-network activity, such as image captureand/or video capture using an electronic device, such as a mobile phone.The image data can include metadata added by the user, or other dataassociated with the image, such as, with respect to photos, locationwhen the photos were taken, direction of the shot, content of the shot,and time of day, to name a few. Media data can be used, for example, todeduce activities information or preferences information, such ascultural and/or buying preferences information.

Relationship data can include data relating to the relationships of anRWE or IO to another RWE or IO. For example, the relationship data caninclude user identity data, such as gender, age, race, name, socialsecurity number, photographs and other information associated with theuser's identity. User identity information can also include e-mailaddresses, login names and passwords. Relationship data can furtherinclude data identifying explicitly associated RWEs. For example,relationship data for a cell phone can indicate the user that owns thecell phone and the company that provides the service to the phone. Asanother example, relationship data for a smart car can identify theowner, a credit card associated with the owner for payment of electronictolls, those users permitted to drive the car and the service stationfor the car.

Relationship data can also include social network data. Social networkdata includes data relating to any relationship that is explicitlydefined by a user or other RWE, such as data relating to a user'sfriends, family, co-workers, business relations, and the like. Socialnetwork data can include, for example, data corresponding with auser-maintained electronic address book. Relationship data can becorrelated with, for example, location data to deduce social networkinformation, such as primary relationships (e.g., user-spouse,user-children and user-parent relationships) or other relationships(e.g., user-friends, user-co-worker, user-business associaterelationships). Relationship data also can be utilized to deduce, forexample, activities information.

Interaction data can be any data associated with user interaction of theelectronic device, whether active or passive. Examples of interactiondata include interpersonal communication data, media data, relationshipdata, transactional data and device interaction data, all of which aredescribed in further detail below. Table 1, below, is a non-exhaustivelist including examples of electronic data.

TABLE 1 Examples of Electronic Data Spatial Data Temporal DataInteraction Data Cell tower Time stamps Interpersonal GPRS Local clockcommunications GPS Network clock Media WiFi User input of timeRelationships Personal area network Transactions Network access pointsDevice interactions User input of location Geo-coordinates

Interaction data includes communication data between any RWEs that istransferred via the W4 COMN. For example, the communication data can bedata associated with an incoming or outgoing short message service (SMS)message, email message, voice call (e.g., a cell phone call, a voiceover IP call), or other type of interpersonal communication related toan RWE. Communication data can be correlated with, for example, temporaldata to deduce information regarding frequency of communications,including concentrated communication patterns, which can indicate useractivity information.

The interaction data can also include transactional data. Thetransactional data can be any data associated with commercialtransactions undertaken by or at the mobile electronic device, such asvendor information, financial institution information (e.g., bankinformation), financial account information (e.g., credit cardinformation), merchandise information and costs/prices information, andpurchase frequency information, to name a few. The transactional datacan be utilized, for example, to deduce activities and preferencesinformation. The transactional information can also be used to deducetypes of devices and/or services the user owns and/or in which the usercan have an interest.

The interaction data can also include device or other RWE interactiondata. Such data includes both data generated by interactions between auser and a RWE on the W4 COMN and interactions between the RWE and theW4 COMN. RWE interaction data can be any data relating to an RWE'sinteraction with the electronic device not included in any of the abovecategories, such as habitual patterns associated with use of anelectronic device data of other modules/applications, such as dataregarding which applications are used on an electronic device and howoften and when those applications are used. As described in furtherdetail below, device interaction data can be correlated with other datato deduce information regarding user activities and patterns associatedtherewith. Table 2, below, is a non-exhaustive list including examplesof interaction data.

TABLE 2 Examples of Interaction Data Type of Data Example(s)Interpersonal Text-based communications, such as SMS and e-mailcommunication Audio-based communications, such as voice calls, voicedata notes, voice mail Media-based communications, such as multimediamessaging service (MIMS) communications Unique identifiers associatedwith a communication, such as phone number, e-mail addresses, andnetwork addresses Media data Audio data, such as music data (artist,genre, track, album, etc.) Visual data, such as any text, images andvideo data, including Internet data, picture data, podcast data andplaylist data Network interaction data, such as click patterns andchannel viewing patterns Relationship User identifying information, suchas name, age, gender, data race, and social security number Socialnetwork data Transactional Vendors data Financial accounts, such ascredit cards and banks data Type of merchandise/services purchased Costof purchases Inventory of purchases Device Any data not captured abovedealing with user interaction interaction of the device, such aspatterns of use of the device, data applications utilized, and so forth

Context Enhanced Mapping

Online mapping and routing, for example, Yahoo Maps, has been availablevia the Internet for many years. Users can display maps at varyinglevels of detail, can plot routes between points, and display a range ofcontent, such as, for example hotels or businesses of a specific type. Aperson may wish, however, to capture a more complex set of real-time,rich information overlaid on their map, for example, a person may wishto create a map for a specific purpose, location or locations and targetaudience. For example, a user may wish to display a map enhanced withcontent for a 14 year-old girl who has soccer for a hobby who is havingan all-girl birthday party in the city. In another example, a user maywish to display a map enhanced with content for a visiting physicsprofessor from Japan who is in his 50s who likes jazz and physics. Inyet another example, a person may wish to display a map showing pointsof interest for a punk rock band visiting Los Angeles for the firsttime.

More abstractly, when a user is requesting a map or a route, the usermay be said to have a specific context in mind. In one embodiment, theuser's context can be defined as a set of criteria that describe orcircumscribe one or more related ideas central to that user in thatcontext, and which can thus be used to create a model of the map needsfor that instance. The criteria can be conceptually divided into fourcategories: Who, What, When and Where.

“Who” criteria are persons, devices, or proxies who are related to theideas embodied in the context. “Who” may be a known person, such as theuser or a specific person known by the user. “Who” may also be a list ofspecific persons, such as the contact list stored on the PDA of a user,or persons listed on a user's social network profile as friends.Alternatively, “Who” can be a general description of persons ofinterest, such as persons who are interested in surfing, single women intheir 40's who drive motorcycles and like yoga, men who like footballand commute by bus, persons who pass by a billboard more than threetimes a week and/or customers of a specific restaurant who also driveBMWs.

“What” criteria are objects or topics, concrete or abstract that relateto the ideas embodied in the context. “What” may be the form of mediathe user is interested in, such as photos, music or videos. “What” maybe a genre of music or video, such as country or rock. “What” may besubject matter addressed in media, such as love songs or even specificlyrical phrases. Alternatively, “What” may be a mood or atmosphere, suchas happy, sad, energetic, or relaxed. As an indicator of topicalrelevance, “What” criteria are an unbounded set of things determined byhuman creation, attention and association or tagging.

“When” criteria are temporal constructs such as dates and times whichare related to the ideas embodied in the context. “When” may be thecurrent date and time. “When” may also be a specific date and time inthe past or the future, or a range of dates and times in the past or thefuture, such as a duration, e.g. two hours, four weeks, one year. “When”may be a conditional occurrence if specified conditions or criteria aremet. “When” may be an offset from a specific date, for example, ten daysin the past, or an offset from a conditional occurrence, ten days aftera mortgage payment is late. Alternatively, “When” can be an event on acalendar, such as a birthday, a season or a holiday, or an event ofpersonal or societal/social importance, such as the last time a favoritesports team won a championship.

“Where” criteria are physical locations. “Where” may be a user's currentlocation. “Where” may be specific places, such as a country, a state, acity, a neighborhood. “Where” may be defined as the location of anevent, such as a concert or some other newsworthy occurrence, oralternatively the personal location of a user when they learned of anevent, e.g. where were you when you heard about 9/11. Alternatively,“Where” can be a general description of places of interest, such asblues or jazz clubs, or a conditional location depending on thesatisfaction or resolution of specified criteria. For example, “where”can be the real-time most popular club for 24-35 year olds, or “where”can be the research lab where breast cancer is finally cured.

The embodiments of the present invention discussed below illustrateapplication of the present invention within a W4 COMN. Nevertheless, itis understood that the invention can be implemented using any networkedsystem, virtual or real, integrated or distributed through multipleparties, that is capable of collecting, storing accessing and/orprocessing user profile data, as well as temporal, spatial, topical andsocial data relating to users and their devices. Thus, the term W4 COMNis used herein for convenience to describe a system and/or networkhaving the features, functions and/or components described hereinthroughout.

A W4 COMN can provide a platform that clusters map features and contentaround known W4 RWEs or IO types. Such data clustering can provide ahighly personalized, automated mapping and display centered around aspecific user or set of users and their associated devices, data sourcesand associations with other RWEs or IOs using the profile created fromthe aggregated W4COMN data collected whether on or off-network, fromthird-parties, carriers, partners, and so forth.

FIG. 7 is a high level diagram 600 of a system that can provide enhancedcontent for a map or route request. A user 610 can submit a request tonetwork 602, for example, a W4 COMN, to display a map 618 on the user'sproxy device 614. In the illustrated embodiment, the bounds of therequested map encompass a geographical area 620. Within the geographicalarea 620 are a large array of entities known to the network 602. Suchentities include tourist attractions and other points of interest 624,auditoriums and other public venues 628, businesses of various types632, parks and recreation areas 636, and persons 640. The networkcollects spatial, temporal, social, and topical data, includingbehavioral and interaction data about these entities that can be used toenhance information displayed on maps of the area.

Outside of the geographical area 620 of the map request are a large, andpotentially unbounded set of entities known to the network 602. Theseentities can include the persons within user's social networks 650,other persons known to the network 660 (i.e. not known to the user andnot in the geographical area), and third party data sources 670 whichcan include free and premium information services which provide dataabout other entities and topics including routes labeled for a specificpurpose, reviews, ratings or rankings of locations by users andmultimedia content associated with locations, events objects or people.The network collects spatial, temporal, social, and topical data,including behavioral and interaction data about these entities as well.This data may relate to entities within the geographical area and canadditionally be used to enhance information displayed on maps of thearea.

FIG. 8 illustrates how the entities displayed in FIG. 7 may be definedto a network, for example a W4 COMN. User 610, 640, 650 and 660 arerepresented by user RWEs 710, 740, 750 and 760 respectively. User 610'sproxy device 612 is represented as a proxy RWE 712. The area representedby the map 620 may be a distinct geographical entity such as a city, andcan itself be represented as a location RWE 720. Locations 622, 624,626, 628, and 630 are represented as location RWEs 722, 724, 726, 728,and 730 respectively. A third party data provider is represented as dataserver RWE 760.

FIG. 9 illustrates one embodiment of a data model which shows how theRWEs shown in FIG. 8 can be related to one another directly andindirectly though intermediate IOs. The relationships illustrated areintended to be illustrative, and do not represent the full range ofinterrelations among data supported by a W4 COMN.

A user 710 requesting a map can be related, directly or indirectly toone or more RWEs associated with spatial, temporal, social, and topicaldata that relate to the area encompassed by a map request, and which canbe used to provide enhanced content on the map display. The user 710 canbe related through a profile IO 711 to, for example, one or morelocation RWEs, which may encompass parks 728 or businesses locations 732frequented by the user or which the user has explicitly designated as apersonal favorite. The user 710 can also be related through topical IO712 to, for example, one or more business locations RWEs 732, whichengage in a line of business of interest to the end user. For example,if the requesting user likes Jazz music, the topical IO could be nightclubs featuring Jazz.

The user 710 can additionally be related to a group of users 750 througha social network 713. Each of users 750 may relate directly orindirectly to one or more RWEs associated with spatial, temporal,social, and topical data that relate to the area encompassed by a maprequest. For example, profile data 751 for one or more of the users 751can indicate that one or more business locations 732 are frequented byor favorably reviewed by such users. The users 751 may also can also berelated through one or more topical IOs 712 to, for example, one or morebusiness locations RWEs 732, which engage in a line of business ofinterest to the user. For example, such a topical IO could relate to atype of food, such as sushi, favored by the end user.

The user 710 is also associated with a map request 718. Through the maprequest 718 the user 710 can also be considered to be logically relatedto a geographical area RWE 720 which can be related to RWEs of interestwithin the area such as points of interest 724 (i.e. tourist locations)and parks 728.

Context enhanced content can also be obtained from the perspective ofusers known to the network 760 who are not related to the end user. Eachof users 760 may relate directly or indirectly to one or more RWEsassociated with spatial, temporal, social, and topical data that relateto the area encompassed by a map request. For example, the users 760 canalso be related through a topical IO 763 to, for example, one or morebusiness locations RWEs 732, which engage in a line of business ofinterest to the user. For example, such a topical IO could relate to atype of activity favored by the user, such as tennis.

Any entity, for example the business locations 732, can be associatedwith a variety of additional information 734. Such additionalinformation may provide, for example, descriptions of a business, basiccommercial information about a business such as hours of operation orproducts offered, commercial incentives, reviews, ratings or rankings ofthe business relative to other local businesses. Such information can besourced from third party data providers 770. Such third party providersmay be, for example, Internet search engines, public or semi-public usergroups, social networking site providers or premium content providers,such as a paid site having restaurant reviews (e.g. Zagats.)

In one embodiment, all of the relationships shown in FIG. 9 aremaintained by processes existing within the network. Using social,spatial, temporal and logical data available about a specific user,topic or logical data object, every entity known to the W4 COMN can bemapped and represented against all other known entities and data objectsin order to create both a micro graph for every entity as well as aglobal graph that relates all known entities with one another. In oneembodiment, such relationships between entities and data objects arestored in a global index within the W4 COMN.

In one embodiment, the W4 COMN builds a profile of a user over time bycollecting data from the user or from information sources available tothe network so as to gain an understanding of where they were born,where they have lived, and where they live today. Using social data, theW4 COMN can also create an overlapping social network profile whichplaces the user in a temporal, geographic and social graph, thusdetermining where a user lived when and with whom. User RWEs can be alsobe associated with other RWEs through interaction data. Users who areinterested in the same time/place can declare their interests and beconnected to a topic based social network through, for example, an IOrelating to a topic.

Data and data relationships such as those shown can be used to addenhanced content to a map displayed by a context enhanced mappingsystem. In the simplest case, a user can enter a request for a map withno additional parameters and the system can retrieve enhanced contentfor entities within the geographical scope of the mapping request at thespecific time and place of the request.

For example, in FIG. 9, the user 710 has a profile IO 711 thatassociates the user with parks 728 and businesses 732 within the scopeof the mapping request that, for example, past behavior indicates theuser has visited. The user 710 is also associated with topical IOs 712that associate the user with businesses 732 within the scope of themapping request that, for example, indicate the businesses relate to oneor more interests of the user. The user is also associated with one ormore social networks 714 that associate the user with one or more users750. The users 750 can have profile data 751 and topical interest 712that associate those users with entities within the scope of the mappingrequest.

A context enhanced mapping request can additionally include parametersthat explicitly modify the request with temporal, social, or topicalcriteria. Temporal criteria can be used to select enhanced content forentities having properties that vary over time. For example, a contextenhanced mapping request could include criteria to select retailbusinesses that are open until 9:00 PM. Such information can beavailable to the network through information 734 associated withcommercial locations within the scope of the mapping request.

Social criteria can be used to select enhanced content for entities thatrelate to one or more persons. For example, context enhanced mappingrequest could include criteria to select businesses that are patronizedby ones which include as customers persons within one's social circle713. Such information can be available to the network throughinformation 734 associated with commercial locations within the scope ofthe mapping request where profile data 751 of the users 750 indicatesuch users patronize one or more business locations 732.

Topical criteria can be used to select enhanced content for entitiesthat relate to a topic. For example, context enhanced mapping requestcould include criteria to select restaurants 732 that specialize in aspecific cuisine, such as sushi. Such information can be available tothe network through information 734 associated with commercial locationswithin the scope of the mapping request where a topical IO 732 indicatesa business relates to the topic of the request.

A context enhanced mapping request can additionally include criteriathat explicitly state the point of view of the mapping request. Themapping request can specify that enhanced content should be retrievedfrom the point of view of a group of persons known to the network. Forexample, a user 710 could enter a request context enhanced mappingrequest for businesses 732 or points of interest 724 which are relatedto person known to the network 760 through one or more topical IOs orwhose profile data 761 indicate the businesses 732 are favored by one ormore users 760.

Criteria specifying a group of users could select all persons known tothe network 760 or select a subset of such persons. Such a subset couldbe selected with criteria related to any available profile data 761 ortopical associations 763. Criteria related to profile data could includedemographic data, such as age, gender, nationality and so forth, as wellas criteria related to Network activity, such as early adopters, heavyusers and so forth. Criteria related to topical interests could includeuser hobbies, music preferences, food preferences and so forth. Criteriaspecifying a group of users could explicitly or implicitly include orexclude the requesting user.

Referring back to previously cited examples, suppose, a user wishes todisplay a map enhanced with content for a 14 year-old girl who hassoccer for a hobby who is having an all-girl birthday party in the city.The request could include criteria specifying a city, females aged 14,birthday parties, soccer, and so forth. Such a request could selectusers known to the network 760 who are female, aged 14, and selectrestaurants 732 favored by such persons. Locations 732 within the cityhaving information 734 that indicate they relate to soccer or specializein hosting birthday parties could be favored. Enhanced content couldthen be retrieved for a subset of locations best fitting the criteria ofthe mapping request. Such enhanced content could then be displayed on amap displayed on, for example, a user's mobile phone, gaming device orPDA.

In another example, suppose a user may wish to display a map enhancedwith content for a visiting physics professor from Japan who is in his50s who likes jazz and physics. The request could include criteriaspecifying a city, males aged 50 to 60, Japanese, jazz, and physics.Such a request could select users known to the network 760 who areJapanese, aged 50-60, and select business 732 favored by such persons.Locations 732 within the city having information 734 that indicate theyrelate to jazz or physics could be favored. Enhanced content could thenbe retrieved for a subset of locations best fitting the criteria of themapping request. Such enhanced content could then be displayed on a mapdisplayed on, for example, a user's mobile phone, gaming device or PDA.

In another example, suppose a user may wish to display a map enhancedwith content for a set of conference attendees, which include therequesting user. The request could include criteria specifying aconference, a 70 mile radius, the requesting user and users attendingthe conference. Such a request could select users known to the network760 whose profile 761 or whose topical associations 763 indicate areattending the conference, and would further select the requesting user710. Locations 732 within a 70 mile radius of the conference havingtopical associations 712 or 763 indicating the location relates tointerests of one or more attendees may be selected. Locations that arefrequented by or favorably reviewed by the requesting user 710 may befavored. Enhanced content could then be retrieved for a subset oflocations best fitting the criteria of the mapping request. Suchenhanced content could then be displayed on a map displayed on, forexample, a user's mobile phone, gaming device or computer.

FIG. 10 illustrates one embodiment of a process 800 of how a networkcontaining temporal, spatial, and social network and topical data for aplurality of users, devices, and locations (such as a W4 COMN), can beused to enable the display of maps having enhanced content related tocomplex user contexts having who, where, when, and what criteria.

The process begins when a user enters a mapping request having contextcriteria 820 using a user proxy device such as, for example, a portablemedia player, mobile phone, gaming device, PDA, or computer. The maprequest includes express (e.g. an address or a city) or implied (e.g. anevent location) spatial criteria that specify what physical location isto be displayed on a map. Spatial criteria can include a level ofresolution of the map. Spatial criteria can also include a routingrequest or itinerary suggestion request.

Context criteria can additionally include any combination of spatial,temporal, social or topical criteria. In one embodiment, the criteriacan be related to one another using standard relational or setoperators. In one embodiment, the query can be stated as a naturallanguage query. In one embodiment, context criteria can be ranked inrelative importance for each request and prioritized appropriately inthe resulting population of enhanced content. The request can beregarded as containing, by default, a context which specifies therequesting user (i.e. the request is taken from the point of view of therequesting user.)

A map, which may include one or more routes, is mapped 840 by a mappingapplication. The context criteria is used to formulate a query based onthe context criteria so as to search 860, via the network, for userprofile data, social network data, spatial data, temporal data andtopical data that is available via the network 842 and relates to thecontext as to identify enhanced content relevant to the contextcriteria. In one embodiment, such data is retrieved via a global indexmaintained by the network and included within the data available to thenetwork 862. The map mapped in step 840 is then displayed 880 on adisplay medium 882 including the enhanced content retrieved in step 860.

FIG. 11 illustrates the components of one embodiment of a contextenhanced mapping engine 1000. In one embodiment, the context queryengine is a component of a W4 engine 502 within a W4 COMN. Inalternative embodiments, the context query engine 1000 is a standaloneapplication that has access to one or more databases containingtemporal, spatial, social network and topical data relating to one ormore users.

The context enhanced mapping engine 1000 includes: a mapping requestentry module 1100 that provides a user interface for entry of contextenhanced mapping requests; a map generation module 1200 that generatesmaps related to spatial criteria contained in context enhanced mappingrequests; an enhanced content search module 1300 that searches networkdatabases 1320 for enhanced content related to context criteria; andcontext enhanced map display module 1400 that displays maps mapped bymap generation module 1200 enhanced with content retrieved by theenhanced content search module 1300 on a display medium 1420. Any of theaforementioned modules or the communications between modules (e.g. theplaylist or the query) may be stored on computer readable media, fortransient, temporary or permanent stage.

The interface provided by the mapping request entry module 1100 may be agraphical user interface displayable on mobile phones, gaming devices,computers or PDAs, including HTTP documents accessible over theInternet. Such an interfaces may also take other forms, including textfiles, such as SMS, emails, and APIs usable by software applicationslocated on computing devices. The interface provides for entry ofmapping or routing requests context criteria that include spatial,temporal, social, or topical criteria.

In one embodiment, the criteria can be related to one another usingstandard relational or set operators. In one embodiment, temporal andspatial data obtained from sensors within user devices can be includedin the context criteria. For example, the current location of a deviceassociated with a user can be automatically identified and included inthe context. The user creating the context can be automaticallyidentified through the association of the proxy device with a userwithin the network and automatically included in the context.

The map generation module 1200 can generate maps or maps includingroutes using any conventional mapping or routing techniques known in theart. In one embodiment, the map generation module 1200 may use theservices of an external mapping or routing application, such as, Yahoo!Maps.

The enhanced content search module 1300 searches one or more networkdatabases 1320, for user profile data, social network data, spatialdata, temporal data and topical data that is available via the networkand relates to the map and context criteria so as to identify enhancedcontent that is relevant to the map and the context criteria. Suchsearches are performed using the capabilities of the network databases1320 and their supporting infrastructure.

The enhanced content search module 1300, without limitation, parse queryterms, identify entities and attributes of entities within the query andfurther identify relationships between entities and their attributes, aswell as relationships to fixed data, such as times, places, and events.Entities and attributes within the query can then be cross referencedagainst the network databases for correspondence to entities, objects,and attributes within the network database.

In one embodiment, the network databases 1320 can include sponsoredcontent that businesses pay to be displayed on content enhanced maps.Such sponsored content may be targeted to a specific class of users, oralternatively, be displayed on every map which displays a specificgeographic area.

In one embodiment, the criteria are interpreted to take advantage of thebest available data within the network. For example, if data relevant tothe context resides on a relational database, the query module canexecute a series of SQL statements for retrieving data from a relationaldatabase or a procedural language containing embedded SQL. Queries maybe nested or otherwise constructed to retrieve data from one set ofentities, and to use the result set to drive additional queries againstother entities, or to use recursive data retrieval.

In the case of a W4 COMN, the context enhanced mapping request can bestored as an IO. Such an IO may itself be comprised of a cluster oflinked IOs relating to topics, each IO relating to one or more contextcriteria. In one embodiment, the query module is a component of acorrelation engine of a W4 engine. An IO relating to a context requestcan be mapped and represented against all other known entities and dataobjects in order to create both a micro graph for every entity as wellas a global graph that relates all known entities with one another, andmedia objects relevant to the context are thereby identified. In oneembodiment, such relationships between entities and data objects arestored in a global index within the W4 COMN.

In one embodiment, the context enhanced map display module 1400 displaysmaps with enhanced content on a user interface. The interface can be agraphical user interface displayable on computers, mobile phones, gamingdevices or PDAs, including HTTP documents accessible over the Internet.Such an interface may also take other forms, including text files, suchas SMS, emails, and APIs usable by software applications located oncomputing devices. In one embodiment, enhanced content can be displayedas an overlay of a graphical display of a map to which the contentrelates.

For example, maps with enhanced content can be displayed on a map in awhere initially, a single symbol is displayed indicating a businessentities for which there is sponsored or recommended content. In onesuch embodiment, further information can be displayed in a popup windowregarding the selected content when a mouse cursor is moved over thesymbol. FIG. 12 illustrates one possible embodiment of such aninterface. A map 2000 is displayed which shows symbols for startinglocation 2010, an ending location 2020, and a business, a scuba shop2030. When a mouse cursor 2200 is moved near or over the symbol for thescuba shop 2030, a popup window 2400 is displayed.

The popup window contains the business name 2420 and data regarding thelocation 2440, such as address, telephone number, hours of operation,and products and services offered. If sponsored content, such as atargeted advertisement, is available for the location, it is displayedin a separate area 2460 on the popup window. The popup window can alsodisplay data 2480 which reveals temporal 2484, social 2482, and topical2486 relationships between the content and the requesting user or themap request.

In one embodiment, the context enhanced map display module 1400 canallow the requesting user can modify one or more parameters of displayedmap to further customize it once initially displayed, by for example,increasing or decreasing the weighting or value of any spatial, social,temporal or topical data, data type or source. The interface 2000 can beused to apply differential weights to spatial 2400, temporal 2300,social 2100, and topical factors 2200 using sliders 2420, 2320, 2120,and 2220.

Interactive Mapping and Map Sharing and Marketing

A context enhanced map can be augmented by allowing users to edit andannotate maps after they are displayed, save those maps for future useor sharing with the public or a limited group of users.

FIG. 14 illustrates one embodiment of a data model 3000 associated witha map generated by a context enhanced map request 3140 where a user isable to edit and annotate the content of a map 3160 generated inresponse to a context enhanced map request 3140.

The requesting user 3100 has previously entered a context enhanced maprequest 3140, and in response, has received a map 3160 reflectinginformation for one or more locations 3200 within the scope of themapping request. Such content may include information 3220 related tothe locations 3220, which may include information from third partyproviders 3400. Such content may also include sponsored content 3260.The system may provide an interface that allows the requesting user 3100to annotate 3180 the map 3160 or in one embodiment add or deletelocations 3200 displayed on the map.

Annotations 3180 can relate to the map or route as a whole. For example,a user may enter comments about the terrain surrounding the route oranecdotes about the trip that do not relate to specific locations, or auser may label the entire route as appropriate for a specific purpose,e.g. a great road for test-driving a sports car or the perfect romanticdate. Annotations 3180 can also relate to specific locations 3200 on themap the user passed or visited, For example, the user could provideannotations reviewing restaurants or hotels the user visited along theroute including rating the venue or location for a specific purpose,e.g. great for large parties, or ranking the venue or location, e.g. myfavorite hotel, my least favorite restaurant.

The map IO 3160 and its annotations 3180 may be retained indefinitely.Furthermore, the map 3160 and its annotations may be of interest toother users. For example, a user may map an automobile trip proceedingfrom Savannah, Ga. to Key West, Fla., and specify Bed and Breakfastlodging and local restaurants featuring regional cuisine. During thecourse of the trip, the user may insert comments or reviews of lodgingor restaurants, or even of road conditions or speed traps, the userencountered during the trip, and these annotations can be searched andused by other users in the future who plan the same or similar routes.

The map IO 3160 and its annotations 3180 can be shared on a network, forexample, a W4 COMN, and be available for other users to enter additionalcomments about locations encountered along a route. The map IO 3160 andits annotations 3180 can be freely shared on a network and provide aresource for network users who plan on making a similar itinerary.Alternatively, a user could choose to charge other users a fee to viewthe map and its annotations, and the Network then presents suchannotated maps with the terms of use to new users and any users, tracksacceptances and debits the consuming user and credits the publishinguser, third-party or Network affiliate.

Creation of persistent maps additionally creates marketing opportunitiesfor businesses. A business may create a map or trip IO 3160 reflecting,for example, travel tips and recommendations for a route driving downthe coast from New York City to Hilton Head, S.C. The map could featurehotels along the route from a specific hotelier such as Hilton orMarriott. The locations on the route 3200 could, individually beassociate with sponsored content 3240, such as advertisements forspecific locations. Alternatively, the map itself could be associatedwith sponsored content 3240.

Where a map IO 3160 references content, directly or indirectly, fromthird party data sources which require a subscription or which otherwisecharge a fee for accessing such content, the map IO 3160 may be viewableby any user, but may require a subscription or a fee for viewing feebased content.

In one embodiment, when a user enters a context enhanced mapping request3140, the network may match the request against preexisting maps 3160that have been retained by the system and offer the user an opportunityto view maps that have been developed by other users or commercialentities such as businesses.

Users who create shared maps 3160 may additionally be compensated bybusinesses 3200 for recommending the services of the businesses withinthe map when other users access such maps or display sponsored contentassociated with the business Such compensation can be monetary ornon-monetary. Examples of non-monetary compensation can includecertification, association, recommendation, linking, as well as networkreputation scores or credits of some form exchangeable for otherproducts or services, e.g. loyalty points or airline miles.

FIG. 15 illustrates a conceptual embodiment of a system 4000 that allowsusers and businesses to share maps with enhanced content. A user 4210RWE can enter a context based mapping request through a proxy device4214 that creates a map 4218 displayed on the user proxy device 4118.The user 4210 can further customize the map 4218 with annotations. Themap is represented within the network, for example, a W4 COMN, as a mapIO 4218 which contains all data relating to the map. The user 4210 canelect to store the map IO on the network for future access by the user4210, or by other users.

Alternatively, or additionally, businesses 4232 RWEs can enter a contextbased mapping request for a map 4218 that is displayable on user proxydevices 4118. The map is represented within the network, for example, aW4 COMN, as a map IO 4218 which contains all data relating to the map.The businesses RWEs 4232 can customize the map 4218 with annotations andcan further associate the map with content from third party dataproviders 4270. The businesses 4210 can elect to store the map IO on thenetwork for future access by the user RWEs 4210, 4610 or by other users.

An inquiring user RWE 4610 can enter a context enhanced map requestusing a proxy device 4514. Such a request can be processed and may matchone or more stored maps 4218 which can be displayed on the user's proxydevice 4514. The inquiring user RWE 4610 can select a map 4218 to haveaccess to the customized content available through the map.

FIG. 16 illustrates one embodiment of a process 5000 of how contextenhanced maps can be created and stored on a network containingtemporal, spatial, and social network and topical data for a pluralityof users, devices, and locations (such as a W4 COMN).

The process begins when a user or a business creates a context enhancedmap 5010 using, for example, a process such as that illustrated in FIG.10. The map is then annotated and additional content, included paid orsponsored content is inserted into the map 5020. The annotated map isthen stored 5030 on the network 5032 for access by other users. Whenusers enter context enhanced mapping requests 5040, the system attemptsto match 5050 the request to stored maps 5032. A stored map that matchesthe context enhanced mapping requests is then selected 5060, populatedwith data 5062 relating to the stored map 5032 and displayed on adisplay medium.

FIG. 17 illustrates how the embodiment of a context enhanced mappingengine 1000 shown in FIG. 11 can be extended to support the processillustrated in FIG. 16. In one embodiment, the context query engine is acomponent of a W4 engine 502 within a W4 COMN. In alternativeembodiments, the context query engine 1000 is standalone applicationthat has access to one or more databases containing temporal, spatial,social network and topical data relating to one or more users.

The mapping request entry module 1100, the map generation module 1200,the enhanced content search module 1300 and the context enhanced mapdisplay module 1400 all provide the functionality described with respectto FIG. 10 above, but are supplemented by additional modules and provideadditional functionality.

A context enhanced map annotation module 1500 allows a user or otherentity to annotate context enhanced maps and insert additional content,which may include paid or sponsored content. The module may provide auser interface for entry of annotations. In one embodiment, the userinterface is implemented as part of the map display provided by thecontext enhanced map display module 1400.

An annotated map storage module 1600 allows a user or other entity tostore annotated content enhanced maps 1620 on the network. A stored mapsearch module 1700 uses context enhanced mapping requests to search forstored maps that satisfy the criteria of context enhanced mappingrequests. A stored map selection module 1800 allows a user to select astored map for display by the context enhanced map display module 1400.The stored map selection module 1800 may provide a user interface forselection of stored maps. In one embodiment, the user interface isimplemented as part of the map display provided by the context enhancedmap display module 1400.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the methods and systems ofthe present disclosure may be implemented in many manners and as suchare not to be limited by the foregoing exemplary embodiments andexamples. In other words, functional elements being performed by singleor multiple components, in various combinations of hardware and softwareor firmware, and individual functions, may be distributed among softwareapplications at either the client level or server level or both. In thisregard, any number of the features of the different embodimentsdescribed herein may be combined into single or multiple embodiments,and alternate embodiments having fewer than, or more than, all of thefeatures described herein are possible. Functionality may also be, inwhole or in part, distributed among multiple components, in manners nowknown or to become known. Thus, myriad software/hardware/firmwarecombinations are possible in achieving the functions, features,interfaces and preferences described herein. Moreover, the scope of thepresent disclosure covers conventionally known manners for carrying outthe described features and functions and interfaces, as well as thosevariations and modifications that may be made to the hardware orsoftware or firmware components described herein as would be understoodby those skilled in the art now and hereafter.

Furthermore, the embodiments of methods presented and described asflowcharts in this disclosure are provided by way of example in order toprovide a more complete understanding of the technology. The disclosedmethods are not limited to the operations and logical flow presentedherein. Alternative embodiments are contemplated in which the order ofthe various operations is altered and in which sub-operations describedas being part of a larger operation are performed independently.

While various embodiments have been described for purposes of thisdisclosure, such embodiments should not be deemed to limit the teachingof this disclosure to those embodiments. Various changes andmodifications may be made to the elements and operations described aboveto obtain a result that remains within the scope of the systems andprocesses described in this disclosure.

We claim:
 1. A method comprising the steps of: receiving, over anetwork, a request for a map from a user, wherein the request comprisesan identification of a physical location, and at least one criteria;mapping, via the network, the physical location; retrieving spatial,temporal, topical, and social data available to the network relating tothe physical location and the at least one criteria using a global indexof data available to the network; displaying, on a display medium, themap of the physical location and at least some of the retrieved spatial,temporal, topical, and social data.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein therequest for a map additionally includes an identification of therequesting user and the retrieving step retrieves spatial, temporal,topical, and social data available to the network relating to therequesting user, the physical location and the at least one criteriausing a global index of data available to the network
 3. The method ofclaim 1 wherein at least one of the at least one criteria is a socialcriteria.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the at leastone criteria is a topical criteria.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein atleast one of the at least one criteria is a temporal criteria.
 6. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the request for a map specifies a group ofusers.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least some of theretrieved spatial, temporal, topical, and social data displayed on themap includes sponsored content.
 8. The method of claim 1 comprising theadditional steps of: receiving, over the network, user specified data tobe stored with the map of the physical location; storing the map of thephysical location and the user specified data on the network.
 9. Themethod of claim 8 wherein the user specified data includes sponsoredcontent.
 10. The method of claim 8 wherein the user specified dataincludes user annotations.
 11. The method of claim 10 wherein the userannotations include a route labeled for a specific purpose.
 12. Themethod of claim 10 wherein the user annotations include at least onetype of annotation selected from the list: reviews, ratings and rankings13. The method of claim 10 wherein the user annotations includemultimedia content.
 14. A method comprising the steps of: receiving,over a network, a request for a map from a first user, wherein therequest comprises an identification of a physical location, and at leastone criteria; searching via the network, for at least one map stored onthe network relating to the physical location and the at least onecriteria, wherein each map contains additional data which was added tothe map by a second user; receiving a selection, via the network, of oneof the at least one map stored on the network which relates to thephysical location and the at least one criteria displaying, on a displaymedium, the selected map.
 15. A computer-readable medium havingcomputer-executable instructions for a method comprising the steps:receiving, over a network, a request for a map from a first user,wherein the request comprises an identification of a physical location,and at least one criteria; searching via the network, for at least onemap stored on the network relating to the physical location and the atleast one criteria, wherein each map contains additional data which wasadded to the map by a second user; receiving a selection, via thenetwork, of one of the at least one map stored on the network whichrelates to the physical location and the at least one criteriadisplaying, on a display medium, the selected map.